Teams: UC Davis at Cal State Fullerton
Records: Aggies, 13-7 (5-3); Titans 9-11 (2-6)
Where: Titan Gym – Fullerton, Calif.
When: Today at 7 p.m.
Who to Watch: Though Head Coach Jennifer Gross and her team stress their collaborative effort, junior Hannah Stephens has certainly had the hot hand lately.
Stephens has tallied a total of 46 points over the last three games, including 17 and 16 point efforts against UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly, respectively.
She also put up 15 points in the Aggies’ matchup with the Titans earlier this season, and could be a serious spark for the UC Davis offense.
Did you know? The Aggies have built up quite a pattern with this Cal State Fullerton team. They have opened Big West Conference play with them since the 2008-09 season.
The trend that has emerged shows UC Davis dropping the first matchup with the Titans then beating them later in the season. Seeing that UC Davis fell to CSU Fullerton already this season, it will look to continue the pattern with a win tonight.
Preview: With eight games down and eight to go, the UC Davis women’s basketball program is at a crossroads. They stand in a three way tie for second place with UC Irvine and Cal Poly, all with identical 5-3 Big West records.
The Aggies have the best overall record in the league at 13-7, but they look to make a second half surge in the tight race for the Big West regular season title.
All of UC Davis’ remaining match-ups are with Big West teams, with four of them coming at home. The Aggies will need to continue their strong play at home (They are currently 7-1 at the Pavilion) and will try to snag a couple of the tough road games as well.
The Aggies are coming off an up and down week, with a strong showing in the victory over UCSB and a disappointing defeat at the hands of Cal Poly. Their shooting has really improved, as they have drained around 40 percent of their shots since beating Cal State Northridge on Jan. 12.
Gross was very proud of the way the team played against the Gauchos, and is putting the loss to the Mustangs in the past.
“It’s fun to be able to get back out there and have something to prove now,” Gross said. “I’m glad we’re going to be getting back to focusing on ourselves.
The Titans currently are 2-6 in conference, tied for last place, but one of their victories was over the Aggies in a New Year’s eve matchup that came down to the wire.
The Aggies will now be looking to avenge the 58-50 defeat at the Pavilion that opened conference play.
— Matthew Yuen
